Arnold Schwarzenegger

Despite his remote beginnings, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger set his sights on becoming a famous bodybuilder and movie star from a very young age. Through sheer will, both dreams came tru...
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The two actors were famed for their musclebound roles during their 1980s heyday but they were left mortified during their latest joint project when each pulled a calf muscle performing routine manoeuvres.
Stallone got the injury jumping off a ladder so he warned his pal to take care, prompting Schwarzenegger to decide to warm up first - but he then suffered the same ailment doing his stretching exercises.
The Terminator star tells British magazine Live, "Sly pulled his calf. He said to me, 'Be careful jumping down from that ladder, Arnold.' I said, 'Thanks for telling me; I'm going to warm up first.' So the next morning I'm warming up and I pull my calf muscle.
"So now we're both injured and the doctor comes and has to give us both cortisone shots. It would never have happened 20 years ago. We were like two idiots standing there. It was pitiful."
The incident was not the pair's first health woes - they underwent joint shoulder surgery last year (12) before starting work on The Tomb.

The Hollywood tough guy co-wrote the script for the 2010 blockbuster, which united him with action heroes including Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but screenwriter Marcus Webb subsequently filed legal papers alleging the film was based on his script for a project called The Cordoba Caper.
He claimed The Expendables was "strikingly similar and in some places identical" to his own work, and demanded unspecified damages for copyright infringement as well as an injunction to stop work on the 2012 sequel.
Stallone denied the allegations and last year (12), a judge in New York sided with the actor and dismissed the lawsuit - and now the star has filed papers asking for more than $300,000 (£187,500) to cover his costs of the case, according to the New York Post.

Mama might have finished on top of the box office, but Jessica Chastain is the true winner of the week. Just days after winning a Golden Globe, Chastain raked in some serious green with her films Mama and Zero Dark Thirty, which finished in the No. 1 (with $28.1 million) and No. 2 (with $17.6 million) slots, respectively. No doubt Oscar buzz for Chastain and controversy surrounding Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden picture is helping Zero Dark Thirty dominate at the box office. As for Mama, which is attracting just middling reviews? Though Universal projected lower numbers for Mama, never underestimate the power of a PG-13 horror film.
RELATED: Can Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Last Stand' Stand Against 'Zero Dark Thirty'?
Strange that Chastain has more pulling power than a once-marketable marquis name, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The artist formerly known as California's governor attempted a big screen comeback with The Last Stand, which marked his first starring role in nearly 10 years. Unfortunately, audiences didn't quite stand in line for The Last Stand — the film collected $6.3 million its debut weekend, coming in tenth place behind Les Miserables, with $7.8 million and The Hobbit with $6.4 million. Still, it's a sure thing that Schwarzenegger will be back. Terminator 5 anyone?
RELATED: How Often Have Stars Battled Themselves at the Box Office?
Awards buzz isn't just helping Zero Dark Thirty — David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, which scored Jennifer Lawrence a Golden Globe Sunday, is also climbing up the box office charts, finishing in third place with $11.35 million. Seems Harvey Weinstein's awards season pull also works wonders at the theater.
How did the rest of Hollywood — including Mark Wahlberg's Broken City fare at the box office this weekend? See the top 5 films below!
RELATED: 'Mama' and Other Female Ghosts in Horror Movies: Which Is the Scariest?
1. Mama: $28.1 million
2. Zero Dark Thirty: $17.6 million; $55.945 million to date
3. Silver Linings Playbook: $11.35 million; $55.3 million to date
4. Gangster Squad: $9.1 million; $32.2 million to date
5. Broken City: $9 million
[Image Credit: Columbia Pictures]
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Hollywood's newest action comedy, The Last Stand, is filled to the brim with "badass" characters. Speaking on behalf of their roles, who are duly doled this description, are Forest Whitaker and Rodrigo Santoro in the below video interview. While Whitaker is forced to fight crime from an office building as a high ranking federal agent, Santoro really gets to get his hands dirty as an Iraq War vet and one member of Sheriff Owens' (Arnold Schwarzenegger) motley crew of deputies.
In the video below, Whitaker and Santoro delve into some of the harsher aspects of their characters, but also into the softer and more vulnerable moments: Agent Bannister's (Whitaker) eventual admission of pride for the menace that is Sheriff Owens, and Frank's (Santoro) methods for coping with the pain the war has instilled upon him. Check out the interview below, and catch The Last Stand in theaters now.
[Photo Credit: Lionsgate]
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This weekend pits stars against some very formidable competition: themselves!
Impressively, Jessica Chastain and Russell Crowe will likely appear in four of the Top 10 films this weekend with the Golden Globe-winning Chastain facing the real possibility that she will star in the Top 2 films on the chart. Crowe has, of course, been singing in the musical hit Les Misérables for the past few weeks now and will be joined this weekend by himself in Broken City, co-starring Mark Wahlberg. Since Les Miz will certainly have a Top 10 finish this weekend, Crowe will have much to crow about with two of his films battling it out in multi-plexes accross the country.
Even more notable is the chance that Chastain could own the top two spots on the chart over the Martin Luther King weekend. Zero Dark Thirty has a shot at two weekends in a row at the top of the chart as it heads into its second weekend of wide release today with gobs of momentum, having topped the box office every single day since its wide release on Friday, Jan. 11.
Chastain in ZD30 will be joined this weekend by herself in Guillermo del Toro's presentation of the psychological horror film Mama, which opens in 2,647 theaters. Though Universal is projecting a weekend gross in the low to mid teens, we have learned not to underestimate the drawing power of a PG-13-rated horror film and thus believe it could have a shot at a second- or even first-place finish over ZD30.
Has this ever happened before?
Well, let's look at Leonardo DiCaprio, whose Titanic (which opened in mid-December 1997) was shockingly still in the marketplace and holding at No. 1 (three months later!) when DiCaprio's The Man in the Iron Mask debuted in second place to the box office behemoth, which was in its 13th weekend of release. Leo therefore was in the top two films the weekend of 3-13-98.
Box office fun fact: Leo is clearly the king of self-competition: His Gangs of New York opened on 12-20-02 and then Catch Me If You Can on 12-25-02 in a very notable release schedule dust-up. Catch Me debuted in second place (first place: LOTR: Two Towers) and Gangs which was by then in its second weekend, ranked fourth.
Can you think of other instances of star vs. themselves match-ups?
[Image Credit: Universal Pictures; Columbia Pictures]
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Sandwiched between Jaimie Alexander's breakout role in 2011's Thor and the reprisal of the Asgardian character in its forthcoming sequel is her turn in the comedic action venture The Last Stand. She might be playing the sole woman on a team of gun-toting renegade law enforcement agents charged with protecting their sleepy Arizona town from an invading drug kingpin on the run for the national border, but Alexander feels right at home among her costars, dubbing Arnold Schwarzenegger a mentor of sorts.
Along with all the scrapes and bruises afforded to her by the shoot-em-up flick (for which she does all of her own stunts), Alexander also endured some durable bonding experiences. While not playing high speed, trigger happy old school deputies, she and her costars actually spent a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing Korean food for director Kim Jee-Woon. Check out Alexander's interview below, and catch The Last Stand in theaters now.
[Photo Credit: Lionsgate]
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Three newcomers hit theaters this Martin Luther King weekend as two action stars and couple of very scary little girls will try to dethrone reigning champ Zero Dark Thirty.
Sony's Zero Dark Thirty has dominated the movie marketplace ever since its wide debut last weekend and has been averaging a very solid $2 million per day in the mid-week derby and around $31 million in the Friday through Wednesday period. This makes it a very formidable rival for the new films entering an unusually strong mid-January lineup and the film could earn in the high teens this weekend. Clearly, theaters are overflowing with testosterone laden R-rated movies including the aforementioned ZD30, Gangster Squad and Django Unchained, but that hasn't stopped others from entering the arena this weekend with both Mark Wahlberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger throwing themselves into the fight.
Next up, Pan's Labyrinth's visionary director Guillermo del Toro presents the PG-13 rated supernatural thriller, Mama in 2,647 theaters. Starring ZD30's Golden Globe winner Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a couple who take in a pair of his nieces who were left alone in the woods for five years - and then of course all kinds of creepy situations ensue. Universal Pictures is expecting a low to mid-teen gross for the holiday weekend for this, the only new PG-13 film of the bunch. Keep in mind horror movies often perform well beyond studio projections, just look at Texas Chainsaw 3D's $21.7 million debut from two weeks ago!
Mark Wahlberg is quickly becoming the January action "go to" guy with last year's R-rated actioner Contraband earning $24.3 million over the 3-day portion and $28.8 million for the 4-days of Martin Luther King weekend. Twentieth Century Fox will try to repeat that magic (in 2,620 theaters) with Broken City, also starring Les Miserables' Russell Crowe as a corrupt mayor who double crosses an ex-cop played by Wahlberg. In his first solo directing effort Allen Hughes (who along with his brother Albert directed Menace II Society and Dead Presidents), brings his gritty &amp; intense style to the proceedings. This is a much more competitive MLK weekend (which falls a week later this year) landscape for action movies than it was last year when the number two film was a 3-D version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was in its fifth weekend, but never underestimate the solid draw of the revenge driven action flick. However, a likely gross in the low teens is in the cards for the film.
Also entering the race in 2,913 locations is "The Governator," Ah-nold Schwarzenegger, in the R-rated action crime thriller The Last Stand from Lionsgate which is his first true starring vehicle (The Expendables 1 &amp; 2 being ensemble pieces) since the early 2000s. Many are speculating as to whether or not this will be his "Last Stand" as an action star or a return to form for the aging, but still imposing action icon. The film also boasts Jackass star Johnny Knoxville as a demographic generational gap-bridger and sidekick for the ex-California Governor. The studio is anticipating a 4-day (Friday - Monday) gross in the low teen millions.
Notable holdovers will include Warner Bros.' Gangster Squad which has held steady in second place mid-week and could nab a spot in the top five this weekend and Weinstein Co.'s acclaimed Silver Linings Playbook which expands nationwide from 810 theaters into 2,523 locations this weekend.
Year-to-date box office and attendance stand at nearly 22% ahead at the same point last year.
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The Hollywood tough guy recently confirmed plans to step back into his breakthrough role in a new film which will continue the story he started in 1982's Conan the Barbarian and 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer.
However, Schwarzenegger admits his biggest battle was to get studio bosses to consider his plan.
He tells CNN.com, "They're seriously going to put it back on track. I fought for that for years for them to be serious about it and make it an 'A' movie, not just a movie where people get hacked up and all this, but a great story with a great director.
"And they are now serious about it and so I'm looking forward to the script being finished so we can prep the movie and start shooting."
The new film will reportedly be titled The Legend of Conan. It comes after 2011 film Conan the Barbarian, a new adventure based on the mythical character featuring Jason Momoa in the title role.

Throughout the 1980s, John Cusack made a living embarking upon ski vacations and passion-fueled romances. In 2010, the man to whom Chuck Klosterman once assigned the downfall of American society took that voyage again, parodying '80s cinema in the sci-fi/comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. Acting not only as a revival and send-up of Cusack's glory days, but as launching point for the career of Clark Duke and a new spotlight for established background comedians Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine effectively played with the tropes of films like Say Anything..., Better Off Dead, and fellow time travel comedy Back to the Future, among others. Now, the 2010 picture from director Steve Pink (who wrote another excellent Cusack venture, High Fidelity), looks to be getting a sequel: The Hollywood Reporter reveals that MGM is in discussions with the director and stars Corddry, Robinson, and Duke for a second cinematic exploit. The reports add that Cusack is not presently on board.
Hot Tub Time Machine is a comedy first and science-fiction second, but time travel and the principles that comprise it are undeniably substantial building blocks of the movie. Revisiting an established time traveling world is often a tricky feat — the community of follow-up ventures ranges from rousing success stories to regrettable glitches we wish we could go back and prevent. But most have at least striven for an expansion of the complicated sci-fi phenomenon. So where (or when) can Hot Tub Time Machine go in its potential sequel?
Into the future!
Back to the Future 2, the biggest representation of a franchise's decline in quality in movie history, transported Marty McFly to the year 2015, where he saw the future that would befall him, if he didn't do something about it. Might HTTM2 want to give its characters a glimpse at their yet-to-come incarnations, propping Corddry on a hoverboard and Robinson in a robot body?
Into multiple alternate futures!
A hard sci-fi staple, embodied in every genre title from Star Trek to Sliding Doors, maybe the hot tub (this time a sauna? a whirlpool? a bottle of Smartwater?) can send the goofballs off on a handful of divergent paths as they inadvertently create new possible futures with the help of subway doors, a sports almanac, or the wings of a butterfly (come to think of it, were there actually any butterflies in The Butterfly Effect?).
Way into the past!
Again, the Back to the Future series is the precedent: the third installment of the series relocates Marty and the Doc to the Old West. What time periods might best suit the HTTM gang? Medieval Europe? Ancient Rome? The early '80s?
To a robot apocalypse!
One of the greatest triumphs in time travel sequeldom is Terminator 2, which sends a robotic Arnold Schwarzenegger back in time to save the fate of the human race. But what if the same destiny overtook the HTTM crew, with a killing machine transported to the present day with a mission to destroy Corddry's character? (Again, in an effort to save the fate of the human race... seriously, we could see him causing our downfall.)
To a parallel dimension!
And of course, that masterpiece/travesty that was Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, which followed up the duo's journeys through world history with an adventure to the beyond. Clark Duke playing chess with Death, Craig Robinson befriending an alien species known only as Station, and conversations with the man upstairs... that'd be one weird, idiotic movie that I would totally, definitely see.
[Photo Credit: MGM]
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The Spartacus star will join the likes of Warren Beatty, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Julie Andrews, who are all past recipients of the guild's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Announcing the news, committee chairman Henri Bollinger says, "No other actor personifies the term 'iconic movie star' more than Kirk Douglas. His acting talent is the underlining basis for his extraordinary success."
The awards luncheon will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on 22 February (13).

Title

Made screen acting debut in "Hercules in New York"; credited as Arnold Strong

Directed the cable-TV movie "Christmas in Connecticut"

Re-elected as Governor of California

Cast in dual role of a man and his clone in sci-fi action thriller "The Sixth Day"

Severed ties with Planet Hollywood (January)

Made producing debut as executive producer of "The Last Action Hero"; reportedly paid $15 million to star; the highest salary for an actor up to that time

Re-teamed with "Terminator" director James Cameron for "True Lies"

First starring role in a feature film, "Conan the Barbarian"

Teamed up with Danny DeVito to play unlikely "Twins"

Wrote a weekly health column for USA Today

Published memoir Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story

Opened Planet Hollywood Restaurant in New York; co-owned with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone

Played a security expert who battles the Devil (Gabriel Byrne) in "End of Days"

Sponsored the first annual Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH for male and female bodybuilders

Played Prince Hapi of Turkey in Disney live action feature "Around the World in 80 Days"

Made TV-movie debut as bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay in "The Jayne Mansfield Story" (CBS)

Featured extensively in acclaimed documentary "Pumping Iron"

Played a pregnant man in the comedy "Junior"

Won first Mr. Universe title at age 20

Elected Governor for the state of California

Starred as a sheriff protecting his small town from a drug cartel in action feature "The Last Stand"

Played leading role in "Collateral Damage," a revenge drama about a man who goes after the terrorists who killed his family; film was postponed from its original October 2001 opening because of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Reprised role in James Cameron's blockbuster "Terminator 2: Judgement Day"

Reprised role in "Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines"; reportedly received a salary of $30 million

First substantial acting role in a feature, Bob Rafelson's "Stay Hungry"

Cast as the villain Mr. Freeze in "Batman and Robin"

Formed own company Oak Productions, Inc.

Returned to film acting in "The Expendables," an 80s-style action adventure about a group of mercenaries who attempt to overthrow a South American dictator; film also featured Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, and Bruce Willis

Directorial debut, an episode of HBO's "Tales From the Crypt" entitled "The Switch"

Reprised role in "The Expendables 2"

Breakthrough screen role, "The Terminator"; film directed by James Cameron

Summary

Despite his remote beginnings, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger set his sights on becoming a famous bodybuilder and movie star from a very young age. Through sheer will, both dreams came true, starting with winning seven Mr. Olympia titles before moving to the United States to pursue an acting career. Schwarzenegger gained his first significant notice for his participation in "Pumping Iron" (1977), a documentary about the run-up to his sixth straight victory as Mr. Olympia. That led to a smooth transition into features with the title roles in "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "The Terminator" (1984), both highly successful movies that laid the foundation for him becoming the biggest action star in the world. He went on to redefine the genre with hits like "Predator" (1987) and "Total Recall" (1990), while appealing to wider audiences with sly comedic performances in "Twins" (1988) and "Kindergarten Cop" (1990). As he entered the 1990s, Schwarzenegger seemed assured of his stature, especially after "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991), one of the most successful action movies of all time, and a fun turn in "True Lies" (1994). But his days as the top-grossing star in Hollywood began to fade, due to box office duds like "Batman & Robin" (1997), "End of Days" (1999) and "The 6th Day" (2000). But with fortuitous timing, Schwarzenegger avoided becoming a box office has-been by winning election as governor of California in 2003. With his film career largely on hold, Schwarzenegger served two terms as the "Governator" with some ups and many downs, including several key defeats in special elections. Despite public marital problems following his departure from office, Schwarzenegger proved by example that all anyone needed to succeed in anything - sports, Hollywood, business, politics - was the unrelenting drive to realize one's dreams.

Name

Role

Comments

Mildred Baena

Companion

Worked as Schwarzenegger family housekeeper for 20 years before retiring January 2011; It was revealed May 2011 that she gave birth to his love child October 1997

Barbara Baker

Companion

Lived together from 1969-1974; Wrote a book about their relationship titled Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak (2006)

Education

He has also won other bodybuilding titles including Junior Mr. Europe and Mr. World.

"Pumping iron is a great feeling... Like coming, but coming continuously." – Schwarzenegger quoted in the film "Pumping Iron" (1976)

He was named Sportsman of the Year in 1977.

Schwarzenegger was National Weight Training Coach for the Special Olympics.

He was a chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports appointed by President Bush in 1990. He resigned in 1992.

"Everything I have ever done in my life has always stayed. I've just added to it. The muscles will always be in the movies. I will never ignore or avoid them. I will add to them. I will add to my acting ability. I will add to the types of roles I will play. I will add to the kinds of responsibilities I take on with my movies. But I will not change. Because when you are successful and you change, you are an idiot." – Schwarzenegger quoted to Entertainment Weekly, June 11, 1993

Schwarzenneger had elective heart surgery to repair a congenital defect to an aortic valve in April 1997.

In December 2001, Schwarzenegger suffered several broken ribs in a motorcycle accident.

Schwarzenegger was a recipient of the National Leadership Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Past honorees included Ronald Reagan, Francois Mitterand, Nathan Sharansky, Chaim Herzog, Raul Wallenberg. and Andrei Sakharov.

"They know when I mean business. I have a certain look and a certain voice. I count to three, and by three things happen. So by two, they make sure they've straightened out their acts. And if I'm counting in German, they know I mean Business." – Schwarzenegger on disciplining his children, to People magazine, Feb. 18, 2002

On May 17, 2011, Schwarzenegger acknowledged that he fathered a child with Mildred Patricia Baena, a member of his household staff. The revelation apparently let to his separation with wife Maria Shriver, which was announced one week before.